A new law implementing the death penalty for child rapists, which was signed by Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year, has officially gone into effect in the Sunshine State.
Florida’s law allowing the death penalty for child rapists is now in effect.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 3, 2023
The minimum sentence is life in prison without parole. In Florida, anyone who harms children in such a horrific way will never walk free.
Authorities arrested a Texas man after an 11-year-old girl was gang raped in a home with nearly a dozen illegal aliens. In Florida, this heinous crime now carries a possible death sentence.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 3, 2023
We must protect the innocence of children and the feds must secure our border. https://t.co/XYUUfRcyZu
The bill was passed in bipartisan fashion.
Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Davie Democrat who was sexually abused as a child, implored senators Tuesday evening to vote for the bill. She said people who sexually abuse children are "called predators for a reason, because they stalk and hunt down their prey."
"There is no statute of limitations on this crime (for victims)," Book said. "There is no end. It's always with you."
DeSantis also signed additional legislation over the summer implementing harsher punishments for sex offenders and violent criminals.
“There is no meaningful difference between a criminal that committed a crime of sexual violence and a criminal that attempted but failed to commit that same crime — neither deserve to have their sentences cut short,” DeSantis said at the time. “While other states endanger their citizens by prematurely putting criminals back on the streets, Florida will continue to enact policies to protect our communities from violent offenders.”
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